U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,288 invented by Daniel L. Woodell and assigned to the assignee of the present application discloses systems for and methods of displaying radar information using weather radar systems. Weather radar systems generally include an antenna, a receiver/transmitter circuit, a processor, and display. The antenna is generally housed in shell-like structure, often referred to as a radome. The processor is coupled between the display and the receiver/transmitter circuit. The receiver/transmitter circuit is coupled between the processor and the antenna.
The processor provides transmit signals through the receiver/transmitter circuit to the antenna to transmit radar beams. The processor receives radar return signals derived from radar returns received by the antenna. The radar return signals are provided to the processor via the receiver/transmitter circuit.
Conventionally, pilots use weather radar systems to detect and avoid hazardous weather. The radar return signals are processed to provide graphical images to a radar display. The radar display is typically a color multi-function display (MFD) unit that provides color graphical images to represent the severity and location of weather. Conventional weather radar systems include those manufactured by Rockwell Collins, Inc., Honeywell International, Inc. and others.
Weather radar systems can be susceptible to spurious radar returns associated with radome and antenna characteristics. More particularly, certain radome and antenna designs can cause spurious signals related to reflection lobes and side lobes. Generally, the antenna is not the problem as it is specified and built to avoid spurious responses. In addition, radome damage and its subsequent repair can cause spurious signals related to reflection lobes and side lobes.
Spurious radar returns produced by reflection lobes and side lobes associated with the aircraft radome or the radar antenna can produce misleading display graphics that show non-existence weather (e.g., thunderstorm cells) close to the aircraft. These misleading graphics often cause operators and pilots to claim that the weather radar electronics are malfunctioning when the problem may instead be related to the radar antenna or radome. Removing electronics that are not the source of a problem is an extremely wasteful and expensive process.
Accordingly, there is a need to identify spurious reflections caused by antennas and radomes. Further, there is a need to provide a warning to an operator or pilot when spurious reflections caused by reflection lobes and side lobes are adversely affecting the operation of the weather radar system.
There is another need for a method that determines whether the radome is interfering with the radar performance. There is also a need for a system for and a method of mitigating spurious reflections due to radome characteristics. Further still, there is a need for real time or pseudo-real time detection of spurious reflections due to reflection lobes and side lobes associated with the radome. Yet further, there is a need for a weather radar system optimized to more accurately display weather. Yet further still, there is a need for a system that automatically warns when radome quality is below expectations and/or automatically mitigates for spurious reflections due to reflection lobes and side lobes. Even further still, there is a need for weather radar system that does not display spurious reflections due to radome characteristics.
It would be desirable to provide a system and/or method that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.